| The notebook of Theophrastus is thought to have been written at the time this student of Aristotle was at the Lyceum, sometime between 328-324 BC. Its existence is largely unknown in the western world, and it mostly contains notes for what would eventually become 'De Causis Plantarum'. A few curious entries exist, not the least of which is the section relating to the now fabled Rainbow Orchid, supposedly of northern India [or what is now Pakistan - ed].
 An extract:
"Apo Alexandri erchomai o antho afti thelo onoma Roxanna. N neos orchis kai eilikrina o perissoteros fantastikos ego echo skopas. N ochi ena chroma all polloi kai aftoi kino kathos ouranio toxo, etis ego onoma n o Ouranio Toxo Orchis."
From this we learn that Alexander himself must have thought highly of the orchid as he wanted it named after Roxanne, his Afghani bride. We also learn that it may have a mysterious nature, where Theophrastus describes the colours 'shifting like a rainbow', thus giving us its name.
How the notebook came to be found amongst the secret archives of the Vatican is unknown, but it is likely it was collected by the knowledge-seeking Pope Nicholas V. At some point it was stolen away from the deeper levels of that famed library, and has somehow ended up in the private collection of Sir Alfred Catesby-Grey.
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